1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reaction vessel and a liquid transfer apparatus for handling a small amount of liquid.
The liquid transfer apparatus according to the present invention is to be used for, e.g., micropipet. More particularly, the liquid transfer apparatus is used for transferring a small amount of solution from a reaction vessel to another vessel.
The reaction vessel according to the present invention is to be used for pretreatment for any type of analysis; e.g., enzyme treatment, derivatization, or gene amplification.
2. Description of the Related Art
At the time of handling of a small amount of liquid sample (hereinafter called simply a “sample”), a 96-well or 384-well microtiter plate is used as a reaction vessel. Further, a capillary is used as a reaction vessel. A sample and a reagent are sealed and react with each other in the capillary.
A transfer pipet is used as a liquid transfer apparatus for handling a small amount of sample. The transfer pipet aspirates and discharges a sample in and from a tube-like nozzle by means of an aspirating and discharging mechanism, such as a syringe.
In relation to the scale of reaction conforming to the volume of the vessel, the cost of reagents becomes a heavy burden. For instance, in the fields of various screening and genotyping operations, a reduction in the scale of reaction (on the order of nanoliter) has been pursued. In addition, there exists demand for improved efficiency attained by means of simultaneously processing a lot of samples.
In the related-art liquid transfer apparatus using a syringe, however, for a reduction of the scales of reaction, there is limitation caused from the volume of the syringe. Further, there is another limitation that the liquid transfer apparatus becomes complicated in accordance with an increase in the number of channels assigned to the samples. Moreover, recycling of a few channels is troublesome, for reasons of an increase in a turnaround time because of a necessity of rinsing the nozzle and an increase in the time required to move nozzles.
In a case where reaction of a small amount of sample is effected in the reduced volume of a reaction vessel, the vessel must be sealed for preventing a change in the concentration of a reagent resulting from evaporation or cessation of reaction resulting from insufficient mixing. In a case where the vessel is sealed, in order to extract a sample after reaction, the hermetic state of the inside of the vessel must be broken. Hence, many precautions are to be taken, such as a precaution against a loss of the sample which would be induced by a change in the pressure of a minute space causing from opening and closing of the vessel.